Top 10 2025 PPC predictions and trends

We saw an obvious shift in tech giants putting their largest investments behind their AI tools in 2024, and we can expect that to continue in 2025.

From crafting ad copy and targeting audiences to managing campaigns with unprecedented precision, AI will continue to dominate strategies across paid search platforms.

I asked 24 leading PPC marketers for their insights on the future of PPC. Read on to discover the opportunities and challenges ahead: while AI promises enhanced efficiency, personalization, and innovation, it also raises questions about data privacy, algorithmic bias, and the diminishing role of traditional tools like keywords.

1. AI and automation in PPC will continue to be the biggest part of strategy

Melissa Mackey, head of paid search at Compound Growth Marketing:

• “For better or for worse, AI is going to become a bigger part of creating ads, keywords, and campaigns in PPC.
• “From image and video creation, to writing headlines and descriptions, to automatically adding keywords to campaigns, to audience targeting, and even to support – AI will be everywhere in 2025.”

Inderpaul Rai, group account director at WeDiscover:

• “AI seems to be everywhere now, across Google Ads, website layouts, creatives, email sequences, and product recommendations—tying in all the different tools available into a cohesive strategy and customer journeys for brands is going to be a key focus in 2025 for those that want to win.”

Andrew McGarry, marketing consultant:

• “In 2025, the focus in Google Ads and paid media will be on saving time and cutting management costs, with AI agents and task automation expected to take the spotlight.
• “At the same time, the gap between Google’s one-size-fits-all recommendations and what individual brands actually need is getting wider.
• “These generic recommendations can push brands away from what makes them unique, forcing them to follow the same playbook as everyone else.
• “The industry is hungry for innovation, but the real wins will go to those willing to experiment with AI in ways that keep their brand identity intact while driving results.”

Kathryn Pearson, head of PPC at The SEO Works:

• “AI will continue to make advancements during 2025, driving better efficiency, enhancing ad personalization, providing deeper insights into trends and data analysis, and targeting more relevant audiences. With a key focus this year on advancing creative ad generation.”

Sarah Stemen, founder at Sarah Stemen LLC:

• “In 2025, paid search will see continued shifts toward automation and centralized campaign management, with platforms increasingly prioritizing predictive technology and chatbots to entice novice advertisers to use recommendations and features.
• “As a result, the role of Google Ads managers will evolve from tactical execution to more strategic oversight and risk management.
• “The days of relying solely on algorithmic optimization without human input are numbered, as AI will still struggle to grasp nuanced context without human intervention.”

Ameet Khabra, founder at Hop Skip Media:

• “The future is not about replacement with AI, it’s about enhancement.
• “More and more platforms are going to adopt AI in 2025 and my concern comes in from knowing that people will be talking about it’s capabilities and not much about it’s limitations. With ad copywriting, I get particularly worried due to two main reasons: data privacy & regulations and algorithmic biases.
• “Yes, Google’s Gen AI feature is cool, but just because “Google wrote it” doesn’t mean that it will be good copy. If the training data given to the AI has biases/skewed data, it will manifest in unfair & discriminatory ads. If we don’t have humanoversight on this copy (which is something I think will happen in-platform a lot more than we want to acknowledge), that’s what may be pushed out to the public.
• “As marketers we need to understand what data our AI tools are collecting, how it’s using it and who has access to it. Knowing this information allows us to stay transparent with our clients and their customers.”

Jen Mottram, paid media director at Fusion Unlimited:

• “I think we will continue to see ads integrated into the generative AI search panel, with the potential for the SERP to be taken over by generative AI. Having accounts that use all modern campaign types will become even more of a necessity in order to show just on the SERP!”

2. Keyword targeting is dead

Jyll Saskin Gales, Google Ads coach and Inside Google Ads founder:

• “Keywords are dead. Or rather, keyword targeting is dead.
•  “A keyword today is only a signal about the types of queries you’d like to advertise on – anyone who’s looked at a search terms report recently can tell you that.
• “I predict that more targeting will migrate to signals in 2025, and that audience targeting will trump content targeting.
• “For example, I expect that certain campaign subtypes will not let you opt out of optimized targeting. I expect Phrase Match keywords to go away, leaving only Broad or Exact.
• “By 2026, I expect keywords to leave us completely in favour of search themes and dynamic- or feed-based query targeting. And with these changes, first-party audience data will continue becoming more important.
• “The launch of new audience targeting capabilities this year, like conversion-based customer lists and Google engaged audiences, show us that owned data is a major focus for the ads product team.”

Nate Louis, founder and CEO at Water Bear Marketing:

• “The increased adoption of visual search is likely to present challenges with keyword management. We can expect a shift in how marketers approach keyword selection for ad groups.”
• “Rather than relying solely on tried and true keywords, ad groups may need to incorporate broader terms that account for visual elements such as color, shape, design, and size of objects.”
• “Additionally, service-based businesses may face difficulties filtering out these broad search terms, making it harder to maintain a highly targeted focus in their campaigns.”

Menachem Ani, founder of JXT Group:

• “Due to privacy concerns and regulations in the EU, we’ll likely see Search Themes become more prevalent in campaign types other than Performance Max.”
• “I hope this does not mean the end of search terms reports!

Susie Marino, senior content marketing specialist at USA Today Network:

• “I’d bet that some campaign types, if not all eventually, will move away from keyword match types entirely.
• “For example, Google Ads might remove the option to assign a keyword match type, and all keywords would naturally fall into broad matching behavior.”

Ellie Burns (Head of Paid Search at Evo Agency):

• “I think there will be the ‘death of the keyword’ where search themes are used more in conjunction with Broad Match keywords which are being shoved down our throats. Less control (even less!) and more reliance on AI to do the building and decision making for us.
• “This isn’t all bad, as with the advancement of AI with the video and image creation for accounts and businesses who don’t have the budget, time, or capacity to support requests for these essential assets.”

3. Creative ads will have higher focus – especially video

Pearson:

• “Visual search ads will see significant growth during 2025, driven by advancements in AI. Enabling customers to find and purchase products simply by taking a photo.”
• “Advertisers who incorporate this new technology into their marketing strategies will begin to understand their customers’ purchase journey and search intent, significantly better.”
• “Interactive and shoppable ads will become a key part of how brands connect with customers in the future.”

Elisabetta Nicoli, paid search lead at Fox Agency:

• “Ads in AI overview results have started appearing on Google’s mobile search in the U.S. and I anticipate they’ll expand to desktop and more regions globally.
• “I expect it will be integrated into automated solutions like Performance Max (PMax) rather than functioning as a standard search placement.
• “This development could significantly alter the competitive landscape and impact results, particularly for educational and informational searches.
• “As someone working with B2B tech clients, where transactional keywords are rare due to the extended research process, this shift could transform ad positioning when targeting upper-funnel keywords.
• “It may create new opportunities to capture attention early in the research phase but could also introduce challenges around competitive visibility and attribution.”

Dii Pooler, founder of Pooler Digital:

• “Video ads will continue to grow in popularity, especially with video ads still holding a higher CTR than static ads. Shoppable video ads will become more refined and accessible with those who have the budget to invest.”

Andrea Atzori, director at Ambire:

• “As we move into 2025, a clear trend is emerging in the world of PPC advertising: an increasing emphasis on creative assets.
• “With more advertisers embracing full-funnel strategies through campaigns like Performance Max and Demand Gen, the spotlight is shifting toward the importance of visually appealing content.
• “While search ads remain a cornerstone of PPC, the success of Display and Video Network campaigns depends heavily on high-quality creative.
• “Google’s historical challenge in this area has been its Achilles’ heel, especially when compared to Meta’s longstanding dominance in visually compelling ad formats.”

Veornika Höller, head of demand generation at Tresorit:

• “Forget clicks, the future of PPC is ‘no-click’! Imagine interactive ads with product demos and virtual try-ons, all within the search results.”

4. Audience targeting

Pauline Jakober, founder at Group Twenty Seven:

• “Taking an audience-first approach. Shifting from a keyword-only strategy to an audience-first strategy that uses first-party data to segment by behavior, product or service categories, and recency—in addition to keywords—can bring major performance improvements, especially if you’ve never used first-party data before.
• “You can also go beyond inclusions to exclude audiences and refine your target audience even further.
• “As an added bonus, taking an audience-first approach is a great way clients and partners learn about the importance of aligning their ad program to their business goals and the customer journey.”

5. Privacy and data use

Stemen:

• “The growing emphasis on privacy will push platforms and advertisers to adapt, with the burden of compliance likely falling more heavily on advertisers.
• “At the same time, the DOJ is unlikely to break up Google, meaning the platform will continue to favor larger advertisers, making it easier for them to compete while small businesses may find the landscape even more challenging.”

Rai:

• “Performance marketing diversification is increasing amidst privacy and consent management, and data anonymization is making it harder to optimize traditional Performance Marketing ad platforms such as Google Ads and Meta as they become more black box.”

6. Branding will be critical

Lars Maat (Founder at Maatwerk Online):

• “Branding becomes more important. Companies and agencies who are mainly focusing on performance marketing campaigns are missing out.
• “The rise of SearchGPT (which is using brand presence online as a source) and the fact that performance campaigns are becoming more and more difficult to completely measure, are the main reasons why I think that companies should invest more in branding campaigns and their brand awareness.
• “So my guess is that Demand Gen and Video Campaings should get more budget allocation in 2025 and Google will facilitate that with updates aroudn those products.”

7. Small business and local media need to invest more

Stemen:

• “Small businesses must be prepared for the investment of time and resources needed to see meaningful results and carefully assess whether their current capabilities and budget align with the increasingly competitive and automated landscape.”

Julia Vyse, digital director at Dentsu International:

• “I’d say we’re about to see more thoughtful conversations about local media.
• “Small businesses create strong relationships, while self-serve platforms are uniquely transactional. We’re going to see lots of big names pushing AI narratives, while closer to home, businesses will want to invest in local magazines, papers, radio, and tangible media.
• “That includes the social posts and halo effect buys that go along with a strong partnership.”

8. Google vs. DOJ fallout

Khabra:

• “The core issue here isn’t about Chrome – Google’s search dominance was established way before Chrome’s launch. Yeah, Chrome enhances Google’s ecosystem, but it’s the pre-existing search engine agreements and default search option (as highlighted in the DOJ filing) that are more central to Google’s market position.
• “From a PPC POV, what’s concerning to me is how Chrome’s targeting signals are embedded in Google Ads in ways that we don’t even know. Any kind of separation could significantly impact campaign performance and potentially increase costs for advertisers.
• “Also, I think the DOJ is going to give Google the opportunity to ged rid of keywords as part of the case references the lack of insight into search terms – they obviously can’t open it up again due to privacy regulations so they’ll get to make that move without having to say that this was their plan.”

Heather Brousell, lead paid search manager at Digital Strike:

• “Chrome will be sold off toward the end of 2025 into 2026 and purchased by either OpenAI or Elon Musk.”

9. More demand for seasoned PPC experts

Robert Brady, founder at Righteous Marketing:

• “I predict that 2025 will be a strong year for PPC professionals, with increased demand for seasoned experts who can guide advertisers through turbulent times.
• “AI can help you generate ideas and insights, but you need practitioners to turn that into successful campaigns.
• “Platforms are becoming more opaque in their reporting and providing fewer controls, so you need people to ensure data is accurate and verifiable.
• “The crazier it gets, the more advertisers will need competent help to protect their dollars and ensure their business grows.”

10. Platforms will get even more complex

Jakober:

• “As the Google Ads platform evolves, so must the management of the ad programs on that platform. For several years now, we’ve been shifting from overly sculpted campaign ad groups to optimizing between campaigns.
• “While Google Ads might seem increasingly automation driven, understanding the details of how all the parts work together is more important than ever before.
• “With AI-driven components like broad match keywords and campaigns like PMax, you need to find the right setup and discern the cause and effect of each part.
• “This understanding 9ojmof how everything works together also applies to keywords. Some say the role of keywords is waning (and I understand why they say that), but what’s more important now and in 2025 is to have a deep knowledge of what it means to have keywords that are targets and signals—and how to negate irrelevant terms to get the most out of your ad program.”

Vyse:

• “It’s no longer as easy as ‘this is measurable, that is not’ with less and less metrics available from platforms and more broad based ‘let the machine do it’ campaign types coming out.
• “Google and Meta for reach, sure, but businesses will want longer term, deeper investments in community supportive media like TSAs, Rink Boards, local TV and more.
• “All media is performance media, and if you can easily buy something of value that you can see, and supports your community, unlike a self-serve, transactional platform, you may rethink your channel balance for the year.”

Brousell:

• “More and more people are turning to Reddit, Amazon and even X vs search engines – I predict a large spike in advertising capability and focus on these mediums.
• “If we are still in the age of video, CTV is going to be a go as we see LinkedIn now offering this option.”

Pooler:

• “There will be an exponential increase in people using OpenAI for search over traditional search engines. There will be a trend of people trying to feed AI in order to give it more relevant information. This will lead into more concerns surrounding AI and data privacy.”

Ted Ives, CEO at Nautical Agency:

• “Large advertisers will have had enough time by next summer to have hired and fired two agencies since the keyword matching changes of around Oct/Nov 2023 happened…any companies experiencing higher CPAs should by then realize – it really wasn’t their agency, it’s Google …and will start lowering their expectations from the Paid Search channel & will trim budgets back, diverting them into Social and other channels.”
• “Google will then spend 2026 becoming much more conversion & CPA-focused and much less click-focused, which will be a major cultural change; and the resulting improved efficiency will result in measurable US economy gains for the Trump administration, since Search is how many businesses get the right message in front of the right person.”

Andrew Bloch, founder at ClickTrain:

• “ChatGPT will introduce Ads via Microsoft.
• “Google makes an average of $47 per user, driving $300B annually with a 90% share of the search market.
• “Meanwhile, OpenAI is burning $5B per year while holding just 4% of the search market. That’s roughly $15 per user.
• “They’ve launched a $200/month pro subscription, but let’s be real, most users won’t pay that.
• “So, how will OpenAI sustain itself?
• “Here’s the likely answer: ads.
• “Here’s my reasoning:
  • Microsoft is overhauling their Channel Partners to increase distribution.
  • Google’s entire search empire runs on ad revenue.
  • OpenAI is scaling fast but needs to close the gap between costs and revenue.
  • Ads could turn ChatGPT into a profitable search disruptor.
• “But at what cost? Will ads compromise the trust users have in ChatGPT? How will this change the way we consume AI-generated information?”

Brett Bodofsky, director of Paid Search at Zimmerman:

• “New consumer interfaces like Smart Wearables and AR glasses could change how paid search connects with users.
• “As wearables become more advance, adoption will increase, presenting new opportunities/placements to serve ads.
• “Meta has their version of smart glasses out now, perhaps Google or Apple will launch their version in-which sponsored answers/responses/AR Ad units become a thing.”